Party in the Dark, A. Chase & P. Jackson

Family Story Times Are Weird When Dad's A God

          It was still only afternoon at camp and the sun reflected off of the snow that remained outside of the camp's barrier. With the cabins done up in Christmas decor, the camp could easily pass as a snowglobe village, just with lava rock walls and flying horses being ridden by children bearing weapons. Picture perfect.

          The cool air mixed with the new information that Annabeth could be alive after all did help Lydia take what felt like her first full breath since before she was taken down by Thorn's poison. Wiping the small amount of blood from her nose on the back of her sleeve, she slowly paced the patio of the Big House. She was still furious with her father but being left alone outside helped her calm back down to more reasonable anger. Now she was simply plotting how she was going to sneak out of the camp to go find Annabeth on her own.

          "Are you okay?"

          Lydia turned back to the building's front door toward Thalia's voice. She and Percy were both leaving their meeting, neither one looking too happy.

          "I'm fine," Lydia mumbled despite knowing she probably looked like she had been trampled by the pegasi.

          "Child!" the voice of Dionysus, along with a whistle, came from inside, causing Lydia to roll her eyes.

          "Us three are going to go find Annabeth," Lydia quietly promised to the two children of the Big Three. "Whether my dad is okay with it or not."

          With that, Lydia left the two on the porch and went inside to face her father.

          "That was cute back there," Dionysus started, standing in front of the fireplace in one of the Big House living rooms. Lydia sat on the couch in front of him.

          "You really got him worked up. Did you notice that?"

          "He didn't say anything that wasn't true or wasn't what he believed," Lydia responded with a slight sneer.

          "No, that's fair. He wasn't punished though. Do you know why?" he waved his hand out in front of him. Lydia hated when he lectured like this. Like she was stupid. Dionysus continued after a moment of her not responding.

          "You haven't figured out the extent of your powers yet, Lydia. You need to be careful with what you put your focus on and who you're trying to cause harm to. Had you placed that kind of focus and intention onto some weaker being than I, you very well could have just fried somebody's mind."

          Well, that wasn't what she was expecting. Sure, as a Dionysus kid, they were famous for affecting the general mood of those around them. Frying somebody's mind was a very large leap from just making those around her feel especially happy or especially angry.

          "Wait. What?"

          "Kid, you know most of my history, correct? Most people will look at me as the wine guy or the party guy, or even see me as the weakest Olympian-"

          Nico must have shown him the Mythomagic card.

          "-but there is a certain amount of darkness there too. Do you remember the story of my creation?"

          Lydia shuddered at the story. Being descended from the Greek gods and goddesses, demigods learn to not think too hard about their family history. To put it lightly, things can get a bit...complicated. Either way, Lydia nodded.

          "Yes. Your mother was mortal and had fallen in love with Zeus. Then Hera tricked her into making Zeus swear to show his godly form to her, killing her instantly. Didn't Zeus put you into his thigh?"